Navigating the Trust Recession in Online Coaching: Opportunity or Threat?

I kinda fell into being vocal about my thoughts on the trust recession.

I'd been having conversations for well over a year with my inner circle of business besties, fuelled by our own despondence with the industry and the inner rebel in us saying "we've got to do better."

You see, this is personal for me.

I've been wowed by the shiny promises and copy too — and been left feeling like I'd been catfished.

I'm also a very passionate advocate for coaching. I genuinely believe everyone with a human brain should have a coach at some point in their life. But over the past two years, I've noticed myself thinking, "I don't want to be associated with that."

In my darkest hours, when I’ve flirted with the idea of burning my coaching certificate, I remind myself of the women I’ve coached — and how much we've enriched each other's lives.

Because for so many of us, coaching has truly been life-changing.

The Online Business Space Feels... Icky

But let’s be honest.

The online business space right now feels like a nightclub when the lights have just come on. The music's cut. The sparkle's gone. And suddenly, you can see the sticky floor, the smudged mascara, and the overpriced drinks. 

If your launches are feeling flat, if your conversions have dipped, if you’re quietly wondering, "Why is no one buying - this used to be as easy as dropping a deadline funnel and a few pics of me on a yacht?" — it’s not just the algorithm, your price point, or your funnel. We are in a Trust Recession.

And the question isn't just, "How do I sell more?" It’s: Is this a threat... or a massive opportunity to do things differently?

What Is the Trust Recession?

We’re not in 2020 anymore Toto. We're selling to a market that knows better. They bought the programmes promising 6 figures of recurring revenue in the time it takes to warm up a croissant. ALL of the sales schizzle worked like a dream, we clicked, we bought, we hoped.

A lot of us were left disappointed.
A lot of us were left feeling more like a cash cow than a human with fun nail art.
A lot of us have felt trapped whilst paying for little more than fluff with a side of gaslighting.

I've been on kick-off calls with clients who, through gulps of tears, have shared the shame of investing their family holiday funds into containers that felt more like cliques than communities. Containers where calls were cancelled without notice, delivery was patchy at best, and the whole thing was run like a hen do gone rogue — no clear plan, last-minute cancellations, the coach ghosted the group chat, and someone definitely had too much wine. All polish on the outside, chaos on the inside.

What we're left with is buyer PTSD.

Folks are more discerning when it comes to buying. They are taking their time. So if you've noticed a downturn in your sales, this might be why. People that have been around a while see through the fake urgency and fear based marketing like its a Bianca Censori dress at the Grammys. What worked in 2020, ain't working as well in 2025.

So if you’re using the same scripts it might just be a whopping big turn off for your most ideal clients.

The Real Reason People are Eyerolling

You know how to sell. You’ve got the strategy. You know how buyer psychology works. Your Canva graphics are stunning.

But your audience isn’t buying the gloss anymore. Because they’ve seen it all before. They’re scanning for congruence.

They’ve seen enough DM scripts, countdown timers, and evergreen urgency to last a lifetime.

Language like ‘quantum leap, 6/7 figures, close proximity’ is not just giving some people the ick - it’s also being seen as a big red flag (even the word ‘integrity’ is getting a big bad rep these days’)

Over-promising doesn’t just feel a tinge insulting — it feels like someone’s still trying to sell magic beans. Come on. We’ve evolved babes. We didn’t just join insta last week.

People aren’t just skeptical — they’re hurt. And if you think you can just show up with a new font and that’s going to rebuild trust, you aren’t going to maximise all the effort you’ve put into your workflow.

The Shame Spiral and the Golden Ticket Crowd

Now before we go any further, I want to say this loud and clear: No shame if you’ve used these tactics. No shame if you’ve bought into them (working with me is a guilt and shame-free zone)

I have too.

We were all just doing our best with the information we had at the time. If you stacked your launch with countdown timers, urgency emails, and unicorn-level promises because that’s what your coach told you to do - congrats, you were coachable. You followed the formula.

The problem isn’t that you were naive. It’s that the system was built on urgency, and numbers, not consideration and respect.

And no shame if you’ve built a container expecting your clients to get the same results you did — only to find yourself feeling like you’re herding cats on a flaming unicycle. 

Here’s the uncomfortable truth though: Sometimes it wasn't the strategy that failed us. Sometimes we bought the course, joined the program, binged the video modules... and didn’t implement. 

(Allegedly, only 20% of people finish online courses.)

We need to talk about that too.

Because strategy is not a vending machine - you don’t just press the right buttons and out pops a 7-figure business. What I’ve seen over the past five years, from being inside these containers and building my own, is this:

It takes more than just a fancy portal, slack channel and a weekly group Zoom to get your folks to actually implement the thing that would make the most difference.

Success is 20% strategy and 80% mindset (or my preferred made up statistic is 20% strategy, 40% mindset and 40% big deal identity), but most of what people are buying is raw strategy built with zero regard for the fact that we all have different life experiences, an inner critic, baggage and fears - so we’re not at an equal starting line.

So what happens? Execution starts to feel so stretchy that they will start ghosting the group and looking for another strategy/dopamine hit again. It’s like a hope-shame spiral: Hope → Invest → Implementation wobble → Shame → Repeat.

They love the possibility of success, but choke when it’s time to actually move — because their identity hasn’t caught up with the level they’re trying to play at.

And the people who buy based on overhyped promises? Often expect you to hand them a golden ticket. They’re not coming in ready to build something. They’re coming in ready to be rescued. And those aren’t the clients who thrive in your world.

So no - don’t just blame the bro marketers, the sales pages with yacht pics, or the big-ticket courses that made you miss out on that fifth bedroom and a veg plot.

We’re all responsible for how we show up—for what we sell and how we buy.

So Now What?

We still wanna make a living — yee-ha to that.
But how do you sell your work in a way that doesn’t leave your clients feeling disempowered, disappointed, or desperate for a refund?

It starts with connection. (Yeah, I know you’ve heard it before. But stay with me.)

There was a time when it took maybe 7-ish touch points before someone would buy. Now? It’s more like 200+. Because folks aren’t just choosing between you and your competitor — they’re being bombarded with marketing, everywhere, all the time. Their inbox. Their scroll. Their Spotify ads.
Ask yourself: how many brands tried to sell to you today?
More importantly — how many do you actually remember?

This is why showing up with generic, regurgitated, bro-code copy is like bringing a paper straw to a knife fight.
Saying what everyone else is saying, just with a different font? It’s not going to cut through.

But you, in full HD — that will.

Your actual thoughts. Your stories. Your voice.
Not the AI polish, that fails to capture your true brillance even if you’ve given it a cutesy name.
You being more you is the only thing that can’t be duplicated, downloaded, or templated.

And that’s what builds trust.
Not because you said “authentic” in your sales page 12 times, but because people can feel it.
They know when you’re telling the truth. They know when you care. And they definitely know when you’re just trying to slide into their wallet.

This is your opportunity to zig where everyone else is still zagging.
To let go of the golden-ticket energy and instead invite people into a real, empowering experience with you.
Because when the dust settles and the bro marketers have moved onto something else, guess who’ll still be here?

You. The one with actual integrity (even if the word gives you the ick now).
You. The one who didn’t just sell a dream — but helped someone build it.

So let’s call this what it is: a moment to reset.

Not to panic. Not to pivot so hard you forget what you stand for.

But to show up in a way that feels good, real, and a bit renegade — because it builds actual trust.

Which, in case we’ve forgotten, is the point of all of this.

So let me leave you with this:

I’m actually pleased there’s a trust recession.

Yes, it means sales might not roll in like they used to. Yes, it’ll be harder to coast on shiny promises and regurgitated nonsense. But honestly? Good.

Because what we get in return are better-fit clients. Clients who are more committed. Clients who actually do the work and get better results.

The secret weapon now? It’s not a funnel. It’s not your offer structure.
It’s you darling.

You being more you than ever before. No filter. No façade.
Just the courage and conviction to back yourself, and have fun with it — even when it feels stretchy.

Because in a space full of noise, it’s the ones who are unapologetically real in a way that sparks courage and joy that we want to buy from, learn from, and build with.

And when you believe in yourself and your offers — the right people will too.

And if you’re thinking —
“This all makes sense, but how the hell do I actually show up like this? Without the ick. Without sounding like everyone else.”

That’s where Big Deal Identity work comes in.

Not to turn you into some megaphone version of yourself.
Not to get you to post louder, harder, faster, more (Daft Punk - anyone?).
But to help you stop editing out the parts of you that actually make people lean in.

Big Deal Identity is about finally marketing as yourself —
Not the filtered, approved-for-Instagram version.
The real you. The powerful you.
The you who trusts her voice enough to use it without checking if it’s “too much” or “not enough.”

Because when you stop copying, cowering and start owning your space —
Clients can feel it.
They trust you more.
They buy faster.
They stick around longer.

It’s not mindset fluff.

It’s not just “believe in yourself” affirmations.
It’s the missing piece between the strategy you’ve got and the results you’re not seeing yet.

So if you’re ready — you know where to find me.